The GOP is keeping its Obamacare replacement plan in a 'secure location' -- and there is now a hunt to find it

Reporters and members of Congress were sent on something of a treasure hunt Thursday when they tried to view a House Republican Obamacare replacement plan that has received some top-level security.

Billy House and Arit John at Bloomberg reported Wednesday that the House GOP plan is being kept in a secretive reading room and is only available to read in that room for members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and their staff starting on Thursday.

It also appeared that the room in which the bill was being kept was being guarded by Capitol police. The Twitter account for Democratic members of the House Ways and Means Committee tweeted a picture of police standing outside a room in the Capitol, saying, “House Republicans are literally guarding their health care bill with Capitol Police. Is it *that* dangerous?”

Rep. Chris Collins, a Republican, told Bloomberg that the House may mark up the bill — essentially, reviewing it in committee and making changes to the law — next week without a score from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). The CBO provides nonpartisan estimates of the costs of all bills and coverage implications for those dealing with healthcare.

Members from both sides of the aisle on Thursday decried the secrecy over the bill, with Democratic House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi drawing attention to it during a press conference on Thursday and Republican Sen. Rand Paul railing against the methods in a tweetstorm.

“I have been told that the House Obamacare bill is under lock & key, in a secure location, & not available for me or the public to view,” Paul tweeted. “This is unacceptable. This is the biggest issue before Congress and the American people right now.”

The secrecy isn’t without precedent: The draft text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the multilateral trade deal negotiated under the Obama administration, was also kept under similar security.